9136 J . Am. Chem. SOC.,Vol. 111, No. 25, 1989
Computer Software Reviews
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31 and [3 41 Anndation of Enones. Enantiwontrolled Total Synthesis of (-)-Retigeranic Acid [ J . Am. Chem. SOC.1989, 111, 6691-67071, TOMAS HUDLICKY,* ALISONFLEMING, and LILIAN RADESCA Page 6698: The second equation in ref 5 5 should be as follows:
[2
[nptaffanes: The Parent Hydrocarbons [J. Am. Chem. sot. 1989, 11 1 , 72621. GUDIPATI S. MURTHY,KARINHASSENRUCK, VINCENT M. LYNCH,and JOSEFMICHL* Page 7263, line 4: 0.75 L/h should read 0.75 L/min. This correction does not affect any results and conclusions in the paper. Free-Radical Cyclizations: Application to the Total Synthesis of dl-Pleurotinand dl-Dihydropleurotin Acid [ J . Am. Chem. Sot. 1989, 11 1,75071. DAVIDJ. HART,*HORNG-CHIH HUANG,RAM KRISHNAMURTHY, and THERESA SCHWARTZ Page 7505: Structure 3 is not the structure of pleurogrisein as stated. The correct structure of pleurogrisein is shown below. We thank Dr. Luc Ruest for bringing this error to our attention.
Computer Software Reviews* Current Contents on Diskette. (Macintosh Version Update Review). Institute for Scientific Information: 3501 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. List Price $345.00 (Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences edition). An excellent product has been made even better. The previous review of Current Contents on Diskette for the Macintosh dealt with a version that was implemented through Hypercard routines. Major objections raised of that version were the relatively slow response to search queries and limitations in displaying the overall result of a search query. Current Contents on Diskette has now been released as a stand-alone product, and this new implementation addresses all of the concerns that were associated with the first release. The following comments apply specifically to a Macintosh I1 with an internal 40 mB hard drive. Copying and decompressing one issue of Current Contents on Diskette (Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences issue) takes less than 2 min. From that point, launching the program and opening the file consumes only an additional 30 s. Searches are now extraordinarily fast. For example, the search for CHEM* OR METAL* NOT ORGANO* (where the asterisk is a wild card) in the title field of the May 1, 1989 issue took only 2 s and found 141 hits. The results are initially displayed in a window that summarizes the results of all searches during the current search session. Modification of the search query is quite easily accomplished by selecting the search statement for a previous search and editing it in the normal Macintosh mode. Changing the "OR" operator in the search above to an "AND" operator again executed in 2 s and provided 2 hits. Once the search query has been sufficiently honed as to provide a reasonable number of hits, the individual results can be examined in the same way as described for the previous release. This version is also excellent for browsing as one can scan the table 'Unsigned reviews are by the Computer Software Review Editor.
of contents for all of the common chemical journals, conveniently selecting articles of interest and adding them to a list that is ultimately printed. Overall, this is an excellent product that provides a convenient means for maintaining current awareness at a comparatively reasonable price.
RefBase. Version 2.08% Datachip: 5624 Pierce St., Omaha, Nebraska 68106. RefBase is a program for IBM and IBM compatible computers that enables the user to store and retrieve literature references and prepare a bibliography. The format is dBaseIII style with fixed field lengths for entries such as journal title, page, author, etc. The screen can be modified to accommodate the needs of different scientific areas. There is space for an extensive abstract. The program is incredibly easy to learn. Storing, editing, and searching records requires only one or two key strokes. The tutorial booklet is clear, with valuable summaries at the end of each section. Searching the records can be done with either single item, indexed, or Boolean search commands. One drawback is that the flexibility for non-exact matches is limited (the single item search for "Sameul" failed to automatically find "Samuel"). Another attractive feature of this program is the option of appending the results of on-line searches (such as Chemical Abstracts On-Line) directly into files. In comparison with similar popular programs Seekeasy and Xy-Index, RefBase is superior in terms of simplicity and compatibility with the assimilation of on-line search results. Seekeasy has a much more flexible non-exact match routine, but input in Seekeasy is limited to two lines on the monitor screen. Xy-Index may be superior for very large databases; however, the commands are difficult to remember unless one uses the program often. George A. Kraus, Iowa State University
